One day after saying he didn’t know if Stephon Marbury would return to the Knicks this season, Isiah Thomas yesterday backed off that statement, although he was hardly specific.

“I’m hoping he’ll be back soon,” Thomas said of Marbury, who has missed nine of the last dozen games while grieving over his father’s death as the Knicks’ season falls ever further into the abyss.

When asked what kind of contact he has with his point guard, Thomas said, “Someone speaks with him daily, sometimes twice a day, from our organization.”

Thomas was pressed as to the last time he actually spoke with Marbury.

“I don’t think I’ve had a conversation with him (in) maybe a day and a half, two days,” Thomas said.

He also mentioned Jamal Crawford as developing into a more vital player within the organization.

“I think he’s becoming the focal point of this team in terms of leadership,” Thomas said.

Where that leaves Marbury is anyone’s guess. The only thing the Knicks seem certain of these days is that Marbury won’t play tomorrow when the Bulls come to Madison Square Garden. Even when Marbury does return, his availability won’t be known, according to Thomas.

“Let’s see where he’s at,” Thomas said of Marbury’s physical condition.

Such is life with the Knicks these days. Yesterday, they trotted out Roy Jones, Jr. (yup, that Roy Jones, Jr.) and the former boxing champ ran drills with the team. Jones just happened to show up in advance of his Jan. 19 fight against Felix Trinidad at – you guessed it – the Garden.

Thomas pointed out that his players didn’t guard Jones, who played in the USBL a decade ago, too fiercely.

“Nobody got close to him,” Thomas said after the Knicks practiced for over two hours. “Nobody wanted to challenge him, he might punch them.”

The coach didn’t offer up any reasons as to why that type of loose defense also often is seen by the Knicks during games.

One of the biggest culprits in that department has been Eddy Curry. Once the proclaimed future of the franchise, Curry has become little more than a spectator of late, his minutes dwindling.

Thomas hasn’t hesi tated to call out Curry at times this season, but not yesterday.

Instead, Thomas chose to accentuate the positive, even if it didn’t make much sense. He said that it was not essential for Curry and Zach Randolph to play well together.

“No,” Thomas said. “They have to play well. We need David (Lee), Eddy and Zach. When those three guys have good games, we win.”

Just because Curry can often be seen riding the bench for entire halves, doesn’t mean it’s a reflection on him, according to the coach. Rather, he singled out Lee as an “emerging player,” even though the solid Lee is now in his third season and is putting up numbers similar to those he put up a year ago.

“It can’t be just about Eddy and Zach,” Thomas said. “We have an emerging player on this team that’s pretty good in terms of David Lee. It’s not so much, ‘What has happened to Eddy?’ or ‘What has happened to Zach?’ It should be, ‘David is getting better and consequently, because he’s getting better, you reward him with more minutes and more playing time.’ ”

Splitting up Curry and Randolph in the starting lineup, as Thomas did against the Magic in Orlando, Fla., didn’t have the desired effect. He’s not done shuffling, saying that he’s not sure what tomorrow’s starting lineup will be.

*

As for Marbury’s absence, Randolph said it wasn’t a distraction. “He can take as much time as he wants,” he said. “I’m sure if he’s gone this long, there’s a reason.”